A rotating breech lock rotates tubing to distribute wear caused by a rotating or reciprocating rod of an artificial lift system. The rotating breech lock has a spool that disposes on a wellhead. A bowl element disposes in the spool's bore, and a hanger fits into the spool and lands on the bowl element with a thrust bearing. Above the hanger, a load ring fits against the hanger with a bearing, and a hold-down sleeve and locking pins hold the load ring against the hanger. The spool has a worm that mates with a wheel defined about the hanger so turning the worm by a ratchet or other mechanism rotates the hanger. Internally, the hanger has a bore with opposing shoulders separated by gaps. A mandrel couples to the tubing and disposes up into the hanger. Protrusions or keys on the hanger can selectively align with the gaps and the shoulders depending on how the mandrel is rotated in the hanger bore.
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23. A method of rotating tubing at a wellhead, comprising;
landing a hanger in a spool of a wellhead, the hanger defining a hanger bowl and having uphole and downhole and ends;
anchoring tubing to components disposed downhole from the wellhead;
pulling tension on the tubing by pulling a mandrel attached to the tubing at least partially into the hanger bore through the downhole end of the hanger;
supporting the tubing in the wellbore with the mandrel and the hanger by landing a second selective landing of the mandrel on a first selective landing in the hanger bore of the hanger; and
intermittently rotating the tubing by rotating the hanger with a drive exposed in the spool along with the landed mandrel coupled to the tubing.
1. A wellhead rotating breech lock, comprising:
a spool disposed on a wellhead and defining a spool bore with a drive exposed therein;
a hanger having uphole and downhole ends, the hanger landing in the spool bore and defining a hanger bore with a first selective landing, the hanger rotating in the spool bore with activation of the drive; and
a mandrel coupling to tubing and positioning at least partially in the hanger bore, the mandrel having a second selective landing, the second selective landing engaging with the first selective landing when the mandrel positions in a first orientation in the hanger bore and disengaging from the first selective landing when the mandrel positions in a second orientation in the hanger bore, wherein the mandrel in the second orientation is passable into and out of the hanger bore through the downhole end of the hanger.
18. A wellhead artificial lift system, comprising:
a spool disposed on a wellhead, the spool defining a spool bore and having a worm exposed in the spool bore;
a hanger having uphole and downhole ends, the hanger supported in the spool bore and defining a hanger bore therethough, the hanger bore defining a first selective landing, the hanger having a wheel disposed thereabout, the wheel mating with the worm, the hanger being rotatable in the spool with rotation of the worm;
a mandrel coupling to tubing for passing through the wellhead, the mandrel at least partially positioning in the hanger bore and having a second selective landing thereon, the mandrel disposed in the hanger bore being movable to selectively engage and disengage the second selective landing of the mandrel with the first selective landing of the hanger, wherein the mandrel in a disengaged condition is passable into and out of the hanger bore through the downhole end of the hanger; and
pump equipment coupled to the wellhead, the worm rotating the hanger based on motion of the pump equipment.
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Tubing hangers support tubing for wellheads in a number of applications. In general, most tubing hangers land in a tubing spool of the wellhead and support the weight of tubing that extends down the wellbore from the wellhead. One particular example of a tubing hanger is Weatherford's breech-lock tubing hanger system. This system has a false bowl and a hanger mandrel that land together in a tubing spool. Anchor screws retain the false bowl, while the hanger mandrel can be disengaged from the false bowl by lifting the mandrel in the false bowl with a landing joint and rotating the mandrel a quarter turn. In this orientation, the mandrel can be passed through the false bowl and can be run downhole. The mandrel can be reengaged in the false bowl with a reverse of these steps for placing tubing in tension.
Tubing hangers are also used for artificial lift systems. For example, a jack pump, a progressive cavity pump unit, or other device for an artificial lift system rotates or reciprocates a rod at a producing well. The rod operates downhole components of the artificial lift system to produce fluids from the wellbore. Because the moving rod passes through the wellhead and through tubing, the movement of the rod can cause excessive wear on internal portions of the tubing during operation. Additionally, the wellbore's deviation and the constituents of the produced fluids can increase the wear of the tubing. Eventually, the unevenly worn tubing can cause equipment failures so that it must be removed and replaced.
Tubing rotators are a type of tubing hanger that install on wellheads to deal with wear on the tubing by moving rods. Tubing swivels and tubing anchor catcher swivels have also been used in conjunction with tubing rotators. In general, the tubing rotator rotates the tubing within the wellbore so wear from the reciprocating or rotating rod can be more evenly distributed around the inside of the tubing. The rotation can also inhibit or reduce the buildup of paraffin or wax in the tubing.
Commercial examples of tubing rotators include the Rodec Tubing Rotator Systems available from R&M Energy Systems of Willis, Tex. Commercial examples of prior art tubing swivels include the Rodec Slimeline Tubing Swivel and Rodec AC Anchor Catcher Swivel available from R&M Energy Systems of Willis, Tex. Examples of some prior art tubing rotators and swivels are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,599,039; 2,471,198; 2,595,434; 2,630,181; 5,139,090; 5,327,975; and 5,427,178; and 6,834,717.
Attempts in the prior art to put tubing to be rotated under tension while using a tubing rotator have focused on aspects of the tubing anchor or swivel as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,139,090; 5,327,975; and 6,834,717, for example. Yet, there are limitations to current methods of setting tubing to be rotated by a “rotating tubing hanger” in tension while a blowout preventer (BOP) is installed on the well for complete well control. For example, when a rotating tubing hanger is to be used, operators run a tubing anchor in-the-hole on the bottom of the tubing string. The tubing is then spaced out to accommodate the rotating tubing hanger assembly, and operators set the anchor. With the anchor set, the tubing is stretched above the BOP (when applicable), which allows the rotating tubing hanger assembly to be installed on the tubing string. Once installed, the entire string is lowered through the BOP and landed in the wellhead. Performing these steps can be limited by the amount of stretch that can be applied to the tubing string so that this procedure may not work with some implementations.
Although existing tubing rotators and systems may be effective, what is needed is a way to rotate tubing that allows operators to pull tension on the tubing to be rotated during operation in a straightforward manner, especially when a blowout preventer (BOP) is installed on the well.
A wellhead rotating breech lock rotates tubing to distribute wear evenly around the inside of the tubing caused by a rotating or reciprocating rod of an artificial lift system, for example. The rotating breech lock has a tubing spool that disposes on the wellhead. A hanger assembly has a bowl element that disposes in the spool's bore on a spool landing, and the bowl element supports a breech lock hanger in the spool with a thrust bearing. Above the hanger, a load ring fits against the hanger with a thrust bearing, and an adapter held in the spool with locking pins holds the load ring against the hanger.
The spool has a rotatable drive exposed in the spool's bore. The drive includes a worm that mates with a wheel defined around the outside of the breech lock hanger. Turning of the worm by a ratchet or other mechanism rotates the hanger. Internally, the hanger has a bore with opposing shoulders separated by gaps for selectively landing a mandrel.
The mandrel couples to tubing that disposes down the borehole from the wellhead. To engage the mandrel in the breech lock hanger, the mandrel disposes up into the hanger's bore, and landings on the mandrel can selectively land on the opposing shoulders in the hanger's bore. Therefore, to hold the mandrel in the hanger so it can turn with the hanger, the mandrel's landings can selectively align with the bore's shoulders when the mandrel is rotated in one orientation in the hanger bore. To insert or remove the mandrel from the hanger, the landings can selectively align with the gaps between shoulders when the mandrel is rotated in an offset orientation in the hanger bore.
The ability to engage and disengage the mandrel from the hanger with the landings and shoulders allows the mandrel and attached tubing to be keyed out of the hanger and run downhole to set downhole components, such as an anchor/packer assembly. With a downhole component set, the mandrel can be pulled back up into the hanger and keyed into a locked condition in the hanger so the mandrel and attached tubing can then rotate with the hanger during operation. In this way, tension can remain drawn on the tubing while the rotating breech lock subsequently rotates it during operation.
The foregoing summary is not intended to summarize each potential embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure.
As shown in
The sucker rod 14 extending downhole can have several sections of rod (not shown) interconnected by rod couplings (not shown). At its downhole end, the sucker rod 14 connects to a downhole plunger and barrel arrangement (not shown) in a producing zone of the borehole. At the surface, however, the sucker rod 14 couples to a polished rod 16 that passes through the wellhead assembly 30 and seals through the stuffing box 34. The upper end of the rod 16 then couples to the pump jack 20.
As the pump jack 20 operates, the sucker rod 14 and polished rod 16 reciprocate through the wellhead assembly 30 and tubing 12 to operate the downhole pump and bring production fluid to the surface. As noted previously, the reciprocating rod 14 can cause excessive and uneven wear inside the tubing 12. By rotating the tubing 12 while the pump jack 20 is operating, the inside surface of the tubing 12 can be worn evenly, which extends the tubing's life.
To achieve this rotation, the wellhead assembly 30 includes a rotating breech lock 100 according to the present disclosure. The rotating breech lock 100 installs above the wellhead 32 and supports the tubing 12 in the borehole. As the pump jack 20 operates, an interconnecting chain 22 pulls a lever 102 of a ratchet or similar mechanism coupled to the rotating breech lock 100. With the cyclical motion of the pump jack 20, the rotating breech lock 100 can then rotate the tubing 12 by some defined amount (e.g., several degrees). In this way, wear inside the tubing 12 caused by the reciprocating rod 14 can be more evenly distributed around the tubing's internal circumference. In addition to rotating the tubing 12, the rotating breech lock 100 of the present disclosure allows the tubing 12 to be pulled in tension as described in more detail later.
In
Here, the rod 14 rotates by the drive 44 at the wellhead assembly 40 and rotates a rotor in a stator of a downhole progressive cavity pump 48 deployed downhole. To rotate the rod 14, a polished rod 16 at the surface passes through the stuffing box 45. The motor 46 attached by a gear assembly 47 rotates the rods 14/16 to operate the downhole pump 48.
As the motor 46 operates, the rod 14 rotates in the tubing 12, which can cause excessive and uneven wear inside the tubing 12. By rotating the tubing 12 with the rotating breech lock 100 while the motor 46 is operating, the inside surface of the tubing 12 can be worn evenly, which extends its life. To achieve this rotation, a flexible drive cable 105 extends from an upper gear box 107 to another gear box 104. As the polished rod 16 turns, the flexible drive cable 105 transfers the rotation of the rod 16 from the one gear box 107 to the other gear box 104, which is coupled to the rotating breech lock 100. With the rotation of the rod 16, the rotating breech lock 100 can then rotate the tubing 12 so that the sucker rod 14 extending through the tubing 12 causes more even wear inside.
As opposed to the above mechanisms for mechanically activating the rotating breech lock 100, another implementation shown in
As also shown in
For even distribution of wear, the tubing 12 in
With an understanding of how the disclosed rotating breech lock 100 is used, discussion now turns to a more detailed description of the rotating breech lock's components and operation.
As shown, the intermediate bowl 130 lands in the spool's bore 112 against a lower landing 114, and the bowl 130 has a number of external seals to seal in the bore 112. The rotating breech hanger 140 has a bearing shoulder 148a that lands on the bowl's bearing shoulder 135 with a thrust bearing 137 disposed therebetween. Portion of the rotating breech hanger 140 seals inside the bore 132 of the intermediate bowl 130. The thrust bearing 137 can use roller bearings or other types of bearings, and lubrication ports 115a can be provided in the spool 110 for lubricating the bearing 137. The intermediate bowl 130 affixes to the rotating breech hanger 140 with a snap ring, spiral lock, or the type of retainer 179, and the bowl 130 has ports for delivering lubrication to the bearing 137.
Shown in isolated detail in
Returning to
Shown in detail in
As shown in
Finally, as shown in
With an understanding of the arrangement of components for the disclosed rotating breech lock 100 and how they install together, discussion now turns to more details related to the rotating breech hanger 140, the drive 150, and the mandrel 180.
As shown in
As best shown in
As noted previously with reference to
Various types of drive mechanisms can be used for the drive 150 that rotates the hanger 140 in the spool's bore 112. For example, the drive 150 can use any of a number of gear arrangements known in the art. As shown more particularly in
The worm 158 of the drive 150 meshes with the wheel 145 defined about the breech hanger 140 of
As noted previously with reference to
As will be evident later, the rotating breech hanger (140;
When the mandrel 180 is lifted and rotated to an offset orientation situated 90-degrees from its seated orientation, the mandrel's landings 190 can pass along the slots (147) on the inside of the bore (142) of the breech hanger (140;
The use of the more compact intermediate bowl 130 can reduce problems with wear, friction, and stresses and can allow the rotating breech hanger 140 to have increased width along its length, which can be beneficial. Overall, the rest of the rotating breech lock 100 can be the same as described previously and can function in the same way.
Assembly and operation of the rotating breech lock 100 will now be discussed with reference to
At this point, operators measure the distance from the rig floor to the gear boss surrounding the tubing spool 110 for the drive 150. This distance is used later when setting up additional components of the rotating breech lock 100. Operators run a tubing string 200 having tubing (e.g., 220/230) and having an anchor/packer assembly 205 downhole according to standard procedures. Which components of the anchor/packer assembly 205 used on the tubing string 200 depends on the implementation (e.g., whether a reciprocating, rotating, or plunger type of system is used). As shown, the anchor/packer assembly 205 can have an anchor 210 and a swivel 212 between tubing 220/230 and can have a packer 240 as well as other elements.
Downhole, for example, the distal end of upper tubing 220 can have an anchor 210 with a tubing swivel 212. For its part, the tubing swivel 212 can use a known design having bearings and seals that can operate in both compression and tension to allow the tubing 220 above the swivel 212 to rotate while tubing 230 and other components downhole from the swivel 212 do not rotate. The anchor 210 can also have components of an anchor catch swivel, such as slips and the like, known in the art.
At the rig, operators run the tubing string 200 downhole and then set it in place with slips so that the top of the upper tubing 220 is at a suitable level above the rig floor (not shown) for installing the hanger assembly 120. As shown in
With the hanger assembly 120 made up, operators make up the mandrel 180 on the tubing string 200 and thread it to required torque as shown in
As shown in
At this point, operators lower the hanger assembly 120 in the tubing spool 110. As shown in
At this point, operators disengage the mandrel 180 from the breech hanger 140 as shown in
Once the mandrel 180 has been keyed free, operators then run the mandrel 180 downward through the breech hanger 140, intermediate bowl 130, and beyond as shown in
At this point with the tubing string 200 properly set, operators align the vertical marks on the landing joint 250 with the marks on the rig floor to align the mandrel's landings 190 with the hanger's gaps (147;
Once the mandrel 180 reaches the upper recess (144;
Operators can remove the landing joint 250 by rotating it counter-clockwise from the mandrel 180. With the well safe and under control, the BOP stack 70 is removed from the tubing spool 110. Now the rotating breech lock 100 is set up for operation, and operators can install any other components, such as ratchet mechanism, production piping, gas lift equipment, rod, etc. The tubing 220 is now ready to be rotated via the drive 150 of the rotating breech lock 100 with tension pulled on the tubing 220.
All the while, the hanger assembly 120 maintains pressure containment between the mandrel 180 and the breech hanger 140 while rotating the tubing 220 in conjunction with a pump jack or other actuating device. As the device cycles and the action rotates the breech hanger 140, internal wear on the tubing's internal diameter can be evenly distributed to increase the life of the tubing 220 and decrease the need for maintenance. Downhole, the swivel 212 allows the tubing 220 to rotate relative to production tubing 230 and other components fixed in the wellbore's casing 10. Whenever a work over is needed, a landing joint 220 can stab into the mandrel 180 so previous procedures can be used to disengage the mandrel 180 from the breech hanger 140.
The foregoing description of preferred and other embodiments is not intended to limit or restrict the scope or applicability of the inventive concepts conceived of by the Applicants. In exchange for disclosing the inventive concepts contained herein, the Applicants desire all patent rights afforded by the appended claims. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims include all modifications and alterations to the full extent that they come within the scope of the following claims or the equivalents thereof.
Cai, Ping, Travis, Todd, Cain, Brandon M., Mosher, Michael, Menard, Scott
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